I Need A Mormon Holiday!
Yeah, that's right i said it... A MORMON HOLIDAY! It's tough being a member of the Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter Day Saints. That's ok and all but everyone once in a while, I need a Mormon Holiday. That's a Sunday off. No that doesn't mean I pick a Sunday and break all the covenants and gospel laws and stuff. That just means I've had it with meetings and Im not gonna go. Im going to stay home and truly have a Day of rest. I can, can't I? Aren't we entitled?
Exodos 20:7-11
7You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name. 8Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. 9Six days you shall labor and do all your work. 10But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. 11For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.
Lets visit the definition of rest:
1. Cessation of work, exertion, or activity.
2. Peace, ease, or refreshment resulting from sleep or the cessation of an activity.
3. Sleep or quiet relaxation.
4. The repose of death: eternal rest.
5. Relief or freedom from disquiet or disturbance.
6. Mental or emotional tranquillity.
7. Termination or absence of motion.
And now lets visit the Definition of Worship:
a. The reverent love and devotion accorded a deity,( an idol, or a sacred object.)
b. The ceremonies, prayers, or other religious forms by which this love is expressed.
2. Ardent devotion; adoration.
Ok the reason I bring all this up is this: I swear us members of the LDS faith have a 10th commandment: We must hold meetings.
Sure meetings are necesarry in the planning of successfull events. But must we have all the planning meetings on Sunday? We are already in church for 3 hours. And if each auxiliary holds their planning meetings after or before the 3 hour block of worship... well... let's take a look all the different other meetings we have: Now let me clearify, not everyone has to go to all of the ollowing meetings. But a good majority of us go to one or two. If you're lucky they arent on the same Sunday and they aren't last minute.
3 hours of church, leadership meeting, presidency meetings, welfare meetings, High priest group meeting, key scouter meetings, committe chair meeting.. and if you're doing something extra, like standards night, choir, night of excellence, or roadshows, those planning meeting arent all the time but they do tend to happen ona Sunday as well.
Each auxiliary has their own presidency meeting, then committee meeting.
Oh and then we have our Home and Visiting Teacher's we're supposed to fit in. Most of the time, they want to come on Sunday. Because you if 3 hours of church are enough, lets just come over and get that First Presidency message in as well. Because you know, there's usually only 4 sometimes 5 sundays in a month. And we can ONLY come on one of those 4 days, because Mondays are reserved for family nights.. so that takes out another 5 days out of the month. So you know that only leaves 20 OTHER days/afternoons, nights evenings that we can have these other meetings.
Firesides! Did I mention Firesides? If there's a fireside happening, then chances are you'll be trying to slip a meeting in before the fireside. OH, wait... Dinner! A person's gotta eat, right? Becuase we must nourish our bodies somewhere in there.
So I ask you. WHERE IS THE DAY OF REST? Cuz it surely isn't Sunday! There is a difference between Sunday worship and Sunday meetings. And between the both, Sundays are becoming my least favorite day. It feels like a work day just like any other day. There is no physical rest. There is no mental rest. There Spiritual renewal is becoming short lived on Sundays. Not enough time to fill that Vessle for the week. Perhaps this is why I prefer Home or Visiting Teachers in the middle of the week, when Im pissed off or peaked and could use a message to get me thru til my busy day of worship and meetings on Sunday.
Mormon Holiday! That is simply a real day of rest. Church Worship. No meetings. No visitors. No having to go out and visit. Come home, put on some jammies, and dwell until I have to get up for my job Monday morning. The only requirement is Church, Dinner, some light reading if i feel like it, stillness and quite. AHHHHHHHH, doesn't that sound just glorious?
I wonder how the church would function if we were mandated to only have Sunday worship on the sabbath? Our Temples aren't even open on Sunday. Could that mean I really should be taking the day to enjoy my family or friends and not jam pack it with meetings? And do we really need to have other meetings on Sunday? There are at the most 26 other days, at the least if you exclude family night...21 other days to get our meetings accomplished.
Yeah, that's right i said it... A MORMON HOLIDAY! It's tough being a member of the Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter Day Saints. That's ok and all but everyone once in a while, I need a Mormon Holiday. That's a Sunday off. No that doesn't mean I pick a Sunday and break all the covenants and gospel laws and stuff. That just means I've had it with meetings and Im not gonna go. Im going to stay home and truly have a Day of rest. I can, can't I? Aren't we entitled?
Exodos 20:7-11
7You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name. 8Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. 9Six days you shall labor and do all your work. 10But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. 11For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.
Lets visit the definition of rest:
1. Cessation of work, exertion, or activity.
2. Peace, ease, or refreshment resulting from sleep or the cessation of an activity.
3. Sleep or quiet relaxation.
4. The repose of death: eternal rest.
5. Relief or freedom from disquiet or disturbance.
6. Mental or emotional tranquillity.
7. Termination or absence of motion.
And now lets visit the Definition of Worship:
a. The reverent love and devotion accorded a deity,( an idol, or a sacred object.)
b. The ceremonies, prayers, or other religious forms by which this love is expressed.
2. Ardent devotion; adoration.
Ok the reason I bring all this up is this: I swear us members of the LDS faith have a 10th commandment: We must hold meetings.
Sure meetings are necesarry in the planning of successfull events. But must we have all the planning meetings on Sunday? We are already in church for 3 hours. And if each auxiliary holds their planning meetings after or before the 3 hour block of worship... well... let's take a look all the different other meetings we have: Now let me clearify, not everyone has to go to all of the ollowing meetings. But a good majority of us go to one or two. If you're lucky they arent on the same Sunday and they aren't last minute.
3 hours of church, leadership meeting, presidency meetings, welfare meetings, High priest group meeting, key scouter meetings, committe chair meeting.. and if you're doing something extra, like standards night, choir, night of excellence, or roadshows, those planning meeting arent all the time but they do tend to happen ona Sunday as well.
Each auxiliary has their own presidency meeting, then committee meeting.
Oh and then we have our Home and Visiting Teacher's we're supposed to fit in. Most of the time, they want to come on Sunday. Because you if 3 hours of church are enough, lets just come over and get that First Presidency message in as well. Because you know, there's usually only 4 sometimes 5 sundays in a month. And we can ONLY come on one of those 4 days, because Mondays are reserved for family nights.. so that takes out another 5 days out of the month. So you know that only leaves 20 OTHER days/afternoons, nights evenings that we can have these other meetings.
Firesides! Did I mention Firesides? If there's a fireside happening, then chances are you'll be trying to slip a meeting in before the fireside. OH, wait... Dinner! A person's gotta eat, right? Becuase we must nourish our bodies somewhere in there.
So I ask you. WHERE IS THE DAY OF REST? Cuz it surely isn't Sunday! There is a difference between Sunday worship and Sunday meetings. And between the both, Sundays are becoming my least favorite day. It feels like a work day just like any other day. There is no physical rest. There is no mental rest. There Spiritual renewal is becoming short lived on Sundays. Not enough time to fill that Vessle for the week. Perhaps this is why I prefer Home or Visiting Teachers in the middle of the week, when Im pissed off or peaked and could use a message to get me thru til my busy day of worship and meetings on Sunday.
Mormon Holiday! That is simply a real day of rest. Church Worship. No meetings. No visitors. No having to go out and visit. Come home, put on some jammies, and dwell until I have to get up for my job Monday morning. The only requirement is Church, Dinner, some light reading if i feel like it, stillness and quite. AHHHHHHHH, doesn't that sound just glorious?
I wonder how the church would function if we were mandated to only have Sunday worship on the sabbath? Our Temples aren't even open on Sunday. Could that mean I really should be taking the day to enjoy my family or friends and not jam pack it with meetings? And do we really need to have other meetings on Sunday? There are at the most 26 other days, at the least if you exclude family night...21 other days to get our meetings accomplished.
Hmmmmmmmm!
Mormon Holiday....Who's with me?
7 comments:
I don't deserve one right NOW (I have been too sick to go TO church anyway lately), though my awesome little bro has made sure I get the sacrament anyway at home) but I surely think the Lord would understand one for you every so often!
My best friend was the RS Pres and every so often we took "mental health days."
Granted this IS the same Presidency that had RS Poker nights but STILL.
I'm so with you on this. A 3-hour block is a lot of time, and by Sunday I've spent so much of the rest of the week working and getting stuff done that I need some time to do nothing.
Of course, it helps that my only major responsibility is home teaching...
I agree with you on this. Sundays are supposed to be a day of rest..not jam packed with meetings.
amen!
I am with you also.
wow, someone came to my house Thursday night to tell me about a meeting saturday morning AND Sunday at 6pm.
In a church whose whole young men's program is based on scouting and "being prepared." As well always being preached to about being prepared, how can we live up to that if we do most of our stuff soooo last minute?
Yo Dudley, I'm with you on the Mormon Holiday. I've taken a few this year (i.e. when the colts play). You do what you gotta do, but if you go to church and your mind is elsewhere, maybe you should be elsewhere. I have to say I'm impressed with the writing skills...not bad sports commentary either.
Post a Comment